


Heart On The Edge

by Captastra



Category: The Outer Worlds (Video Game)
Genre: But wait he’s alive?, Character Death, Darker AU, F/M, Gen, Grief and, Grief and Loss, Interrogation, Kidnapped Captain, Sophia will get what she wants, Unreliable crew to the rescue, escaping
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-11-29
Updated: 2021-01-18
Packaged: 2021-03-10 04:28:07
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 4
Words: 6,687
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27768304
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Captastra/pseuds/Captastra
Summary: Rhea wakes up to find that her world has been turned upside down. Captured by Sophia Akande to find the location of Phineas Welles, she must withstand what comes next in hopes to figure out how to get out of this new hell.
Relationships: Female Captain/Felix Millstone
Comments: 10
Kudos: 8





	1. Captured

**Author's Note:**

> A darker AU set in the The Outer Worlds.

Bright light greeted Rhea as the bag was pulled off her head. Disoriented, she tried to get up but found herself bound to the chair she was sitting in. 

“What?” She tried to speak but her voice came out sounding weird, almost groggy.

The bindings around her wrist were tight and began to dig into her skin as she tried to wriggle out of them. It hurt to look around due to the bright light so she called out, her voice stronger now.

“Hello?”

Silence answered her. Fear began to creep up her spine. Rhea was used to getting caught up in crappy situations; fighting marauders, raptidons, the occasional bureaucrat, you name it, she’s dealt with it. But this, this was different.

She didn’t know how long she had been there. The last thing she remembered was traveling around Byzantium with Felix and Max to find….something in the sewers, but afterwards was blank. 

“If this is a joke, it’s not funny,” she yelled out.

Again she was met with silence. But this time Rhea could hear people breathing behind her. As the grogginess finally wore off, it became clear that she was in some kind of interrogation room or cell. The light made it difficult to get any clearer details for who else was in the room and how many there were as she tried to look around. 

“Hello Captain.” A cold, female voice rang out from the shadow.

The voice was familiar but she couldn’t quite place it. 

Rhea yelled out in pain as she felt the impact of something hitting her face. She had been hit before. Months of running around Halcyon fighting had really toughened her up for when she got into fights. Yet the jarring nature of her situation couldn’t soften the blow. There was wetness under her eye and her already limited vision became blurry. That’s not going to look pretty, Rhea thought to herself.

Blood had welled up in her mouth, a coppery taste that made her nauseous. Spitting some out onto the ground, she asked, “To whom do I owe the pleasure?”

A tall woman stepped out in front of the light, keeping her face in the shadow. Yet even in the shadows, the stiffness in her posture gave the stranger away.

“Ah Sophia,” Rhea spoke cheerfully as she ignored the stinging from where she had bit her tongue, “Always nice running into you.”

Her head snapped to the other side as another fist connected with her face. The chair rocked slightly from the force of the punch before settling back down onto the ground. Dazed, she barely registered as the other guard stepped into view. More blood filled her mouth, causing her to cough as she tried not to choke on the fluid building in her mouth.

“Insolent as always.” Sophia spoke with indifference, as if this was just a normal day for her. Probably was. “You have an uncanny talent for complicating my life.”

“Someone has to keep you busy in this forsaken colony,” Rhea tried to flash a big smile that turned into a grimace from the pain. Her whole face hurt now, a dull throbbing that made it difficult to concentrate. She could feel the area around her eyes and cheek beginning to swell and figured by tomorrow she’d look black and blue. Looking back up, the light hurt even worse now and a wave of nausea hit her. Rhea began taking deep breaths in hopes of not throwing up.

“Enough.” 

Sophia’s voice rang out and Rhea could hear a shuffling noise as her mysterious attackers backed away. 

“I’m sure by now you know why we brought you here,” She began to circle Rhea taking slow deliberate steps that echoed around the otherwise silent room.

“Can’t be,” Rhea spit out some more blood,”can’t be my birthday yet.”

“Tell us where Phineas Welles is Captain.”

Blood dripped on the floor from where Rhea was leaning forward. It was hard to focus on anything except for the thumping of Sophia's boots hitting the floor. Suddenly the boots stopped in front of Rhea’s vision.

“Sit her up.”

Gloved hands grabbed onto her shoulders and forcibly pulled her up so she was facing Sophia again.

“Where is he,” Sophia’s tone became sharper, any sign of indifference gone. Rhea let out a laugh but winced again as the pain flared up.

“Sorry, can’t help you there.”

Sophia leaned down until she was face to face with Rhea.

“Where is Phineas Welles.”

Rhea attempted to shrug but found she couldn’t due to the guards still holding on to her shoulders.

“Very well,” Sophia stepped closer, giving her a steeled look. “Maybe a day or two in a cell will make you more….willing to comply.”

With that, the bag was placed over Rhea’s and she was dragged out of the room. It didn’t take long before they stopped and the bag was pulled off of her head. They stood in front of a steel door. 

“I certainly hope you reconsider.” Sophia’s voice came from behind her. “Until then.” She motioned to the guards who proceeded to toss Rhea into the room.

The cold, concrete floor greeted her as she attempted to catch herself before more damage was caused to her face. With her hands sting and head throbbing, Rhea struggled to get up with the faint hope that she could fight back and get out. 

“Wait,” she yelled out.

“What do you want,” Sophia asked from the doorway.

“Where,” Rhea coughed and tried to catch her breath, “where are my crew?”

“Who,” Sophia asked with indifference. Her indifference was beginning to get to Rhea.

“Felix and Max,” Rhea breathed in, “where. Are. They.” Fear filled her when she thought about what would come next. The thought of her crew, the thought of Felix...no, she wouldn’t let herself think that far ahead. But she needed to know.

A confused look passed across Sophia’s face before setting back to indifference. “Ah yes, the others you were with.”

She walked into the room and knelt down in front of where Rhea had been unceremoniously tossed to the floor.

“Answer my question and I’ll let all of you go. Don’t test my patience.” Sophia emphasized her last statement before getting up and walking out of the door.

Gathering enough strength to stand, Rhea raced to the door yelling, “Don’t you dare hurt them.”

Instead, the door was slammed shut as Rhea reached it and she crumbled to the floor.


	2. All Good Things Must End

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Rhea celebrates with her friends her acceptance onto The Hope, but nothing is at it seems. Rhea must make a choice or face the consequences.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This wasn't easy.

“I got in.’ Rhea yelled out after rushing into the lab. Three heads turned to look at Rhea before erupting into cheers as they stopped what they were doing.

“Congratulations Rhea,” Rahul’s muffled voice could be heard from behind the sealed glass room he was standing in. Rhea waved the data padd at him as the others rushed over to see the notification. He had always been like a father to her when she first was assigned to the lab 3 years earlier as an intern. Having always been cautious and worried about failing, Rahul had helped her learn to come into her own person. 

Siyana snatched the data padd out of Rhea’s hands before she could stop them. Siyana had joined the lab about 6 months after Rhea and they quickly became friends. Many nights were spent at the bars and talking about life, their dreams, and trying to ignore the existential dread about the struggles Earth was facing.

“Hey give that back,” Rhea said, trying to sound serious but failing miserably. Siyana danced away, their lab coat trailing behind them as they moved down one of the aisles making it difficult to chase after them.

“Rhea,” Siyana’s voice rang out in a mocking announcer's voice as they began to read the letter, “you have been accepted to be a part of the Halcyon society. The Halcyon system is the only colo--”

“Give that back Siyana,” Rhea ran over carefully trying to avoid the important equipment sitting on the tables and attempted to snatch the data padd out of their hands. Siyana continued to move just enough to keep the data padd out of Rhea’s reach and continued to read.

“You are scheduled to board the Hope, the sister ship of the Groundbreaker that started its journey 10 years prior to begin preparing the Halcyon system for colonization.” Siyana continued as they struggled to contain their laughter. “The Hope is scheduled to leave…” Siyana’s voice trailed off and they stopped moving as they continued to read the letter.

Sensing the opportunity, Rhea let out a triumphant “HA” before snatching the data padd out of their hands but she stopped smiling when she saw the look on Siyana’s face. 

“What is it,” Rhea asked her. Siyana looked away, attempting to hide the sad look on their face

Rhea felt someone come up behind her before a male voice started to read out the rest of the sentence from over her shoulder.

“The Hope is scheduled to leave on July 15,” Dillon read. Dillion was the newest member of this lab. He tended to keep to himself, but Rhea and Siyana always tried to invite him whenever they hung out together.

“July 15,” Rhea repeated before mentally counting the days. “That's only a couple days away.”

The three of them stood in silence as the reality started to set in. A hissing sound was heard as Rahul made his way out of the sealed lab.

“Then I guess we better celebrate the few remaining days you have left here on Earth,” Rahul said, offering Rhea a kind smile. Siyana and Rhea shared a look before turning back to Rahul with big smiles.

“The Crafty Bell,” Rhea asked with a knowing smile. While the other nodded, Dillion looked unsure of himself.

Rubbing the back of his neck, he said, “I don’t want to intrude on you guys.”

“What,” Rhea said shocked, “No you gotta come with us. I only have a couple days left before I’m gone and I want to share it with my favorite people.”

“Only people,” Siyana yelled from where they stood at their work station. Rhea ignored them and continued to look at Dillon.

“Please?”

Dillon stood there awkwardly before smiling, “Oh, alright.”

Rhea jumped and wrapped her arms around his neck. “Thank you!”

He laughed as he hugged her back.

Over the course of the next few days, Rhea prepped for her one way trip to the Halcyon system. She had said her goodbyes to the few important people in her life and was winding down at the Crafty Bell with her friends from work. Tomorrow was the day she would be leaving and Rhea was determined to make the most of it.

Looking around the bar, Rhea took in her friends' smiling faces. They had been coming to this bar Rahul had brought her here to get over a bad breakup.

As they sat around the table in the dimly lit bar swapping funny stories and trying to hide the sadness of Rhea’s final night, a warm hand rested on Rhea’s shoulders. Looking up, Rhea saw an older gentleman with tired looking eyes wearing a blue vicar’s uniform.

“Wake up Rhea,” came Max’s voice.

“What,” Rhea asked the man in question looked very familiar but she couldn’t place him. Looking around to see if the others were as confused as she, she almost let out a scream. The faces of Rahul, Siyana, and Dillon were all blurred, as if she could remember the features.

“Rahul,” Rhea asked, fear laced in her voice. When he turned to face her, Parvati’s face greeted her. 

“You need to wake up Rhea,” she said calmly. 

A loud scrape could be heard as Rhea jumped out of her chair. “No,” she said softly, looking around the room for a sign, something to shake the fear. The bar began to blur together, as the music and noise became like a soft hum.

“Wha--what’s going on,” she said out loud, hoping for a clear answer but deep down knowing she wouldn’t get one. The only people that were clear now were Max and Parvati.

“NO,” she yelled out angrily, “you’re not supposed to be here.”

They began to walk towards her soundlessly, their flat expressions sending shivers up her spine. She only got so far before her back hit something solid. Turning around, she came face to face with Felix.

She could feel the tears come down her face as she stared into his blank eyes. 

“Wake up Rhea.”

Rhea opened her eyes as the words “I don’t want to” died on her lips. Rough hands were pulling her up as reality came crashing down on her. She wasn’t back on Earth. No, she was being held captive by Sophia Akande. She didn’t know how long she had been held captive, only that she had been to the interrogation room 4 times now. Each time rougher than the last but Sophia had yet to break her. But Rhea wasn’t sure how much longer she could hold out. As all of this came rushing back to Rhea, an anguished cry escaped from her lips as she felt the last bit of defiance ebb away from her body.

The guards dragged her, head covered as usual, to what Rhea assumed was her usual. interrogation room. Usually she always had some quip to throw at them. It wasn’t much, making bad jokes had helped fight off the pain and gnawing dread that she may die there. But as the interrogations continued, it was getting harder to stay strong. Her final hope was that she could withstand whatever Sophia threw at her and not give away Phineas’s location.

Yet when they finally stopped and pulled the bag from her head, she realized they were standing in a new room.

Two windows were on one side of the wall, no lights were on to give away what or who was in the rooms. Sophia stood off to the side, her posture as rigid as ever and her face set in that serious look she always wore.

“Switching things up today I see,” Rhea said with what little bravado she could muster. “I was getting bored of the old room anyways. Gotta liven things up.”

Sophia remained silent with only a slight rise of an eyebrow indicating that she acknowledged what was being said as Rhea rambled. She cleared her throat and Rhea fell silent.

“You’ve survived this long. And in a way, you are correct.” Sophia began, a smile playing on her lips. “Your resilience is admirable, but I have grown weary and impatient of this” 

Oh have you now, Rhea thought to herself. 

Sophia continued, “Tell me where Phineas Welles is and I won’t have to escalate things any farther.”

With that, she pulled out some kind of handheld device, like she was a villain straight out of one of the serials Felix had been showing her. From Rhea’s position, she could see an array of buttons but nothing more. The fear that had been replaced by the pain Rhea had been experiencing began to flood her again. 

Rhea licked her dry, cracked lips as every nerve in her body was screaming danger. “I told you before, and I’ll tell you again. I don’t know where he is.”

Sophia shook her head and gave Rhea an almost believable sympathetic look.

“Very well. Know that what happens next is on your hands.” Sophia pressed one of the button’s on her device. 

Lights turned on in the windows, revealing two interrogation rooms similar to the one Rhea had been in. Her blood ran cold when she saw the occupants in each room.

“No…”

Felix and Max each occupied one of the rooms. Max sat at the interrogation table, his hands rested on the table conveying a sense of calm. But Rhea knew him well enough to see that he was on the edge of breaking. In the other room, Felix walked around the room, looking like an animal trapped in a cage. It looked like he was yelling, his face contorted in anger, but no sound was coming from the room. Her heart felt like a jackhammer as she stared at two of the most important people in her life.

“Yes Captain.” Sophia said, as if that explained everything.

Rhea tore her eyes away from Felix and Max to glare at Sophia. “What are you going to do with them,” she asked, her voice deadly quiet. 

“What I must.,” Sophia began, “I warned you when we first spoke. ‘Don’t test my patience’. Well you have and I’m inclined to get the information I need. So I’m giving you one final chance.”

Sophia moved to stand between the two windows. “Where is Phineas Welles.”

Whenever Sophia had asked that question during their recent interrogations, Rhea had been able to resist. Whatever pain and suffering Sophia and her guards threw at her, she was able to resist. Because she knew it would keep not only Phineas safe, but others safe as well. 

But with Felix and Max on the line, things were different. Still, she couldn’t break.

“Let them go Sophia,” Rhea begged, “Please let them go.”

Sophia shook her head. “I’m sorry it came to this.” And pressed another button.

A distant bang could be heard before Felix dropped to the floor.

Rhea screamed out as the lights in the window went black.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> AHHHHH thank you for sticking with me!
> 
> Next chapter will be up soon.


	3. Lost Who You Are

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> agh this hurt me and I’m sorry to hurt you

The world went red as Rhea watched Felix’s lifeless body fall to the floor.

Nothing registered in her mind as she wrenched herself out of the guards grip. A ringing noise filled her ears, drowning out her screams as she tackled Sophia to the ground.

The only emotion that registered was hatred. Hatred towards this woman that had brought her nothing but pain. 

Hands tried to pull her off but she only shoved them away before continuing to beat the woman in front of her. Clawing, punching, she didn’t know and didn’t care. All that mattered was that she did everything in her power to kill Sophia. 

Someone was yelling something, but Rhea only heard her racing pulse as it hammered in her ears. The world had become blurry as a small part of Rhea’s brain registered that she was crying. 

A little flash of pride went through her as she felt a few good punches connect with skin. Suddenly her body seized as a stun baton connected with her body. She felt a few more hits connect with her body before they stopped, but the muscle spasms continued for a few minutes longer. As she laid there dazed, a face entered her vision. It was hard for Rhea to tell if she had inflicted any damage as she tried to focus on Sophia’s face. But even in this state, Rhea could make out Sophia’s words clear as day.

“Remember this Captain. I get what I want. Your decision to not answer my question led to his death. His death is on your hands.”

As she walked around Rhea’s twitching body, Sophia motioned to the guards, "Get her out of my sight.”

Rhea could only let out a strangled cry as the guards pulled her up off the floor. They didn’t even bother to put on the cloth hood, not that it would have made a difference. She was too busy trying to deal with the pain and not being able to control her body to notice the path they were taking her. 

After the guards dropped her in her cell, Rhea made no move to get up. She laid there for what felt like hours or days, there was no way to tell. Her world had become the gray concrete box and now it truly was her prison. There was no way to escape from this, the despair of what had happened.

Her despair hurt more than any of the physical pain she was feeling. Curling in on herself, Rhea continued to cry, helpless to save her friends and hating herself for what she had brought upon them. 

Every time she closed her eyes, all she could see was his face. The lifeless eyes that seemed to stare into her, a single drop of blood running down his face from the hole in his forehead. Sophia’s words played over and over again in her head.

His death is on your hands.

Sleep eventually came to Rhea after she laid there crying but there was no sense of rest. Her dreams were filled with shadows, people reaching out to her but never getting close enough, others turning away as she cried out to them, for help or to run away, Rhea couldn’t remember. 

In waking moments, Rhea switched between staring at the wall and the ceiling. She could only tell time was passing by the fact that guards continued to drop food off. Four times the guards had come by, whether that was daily or twice a day she couldn’t tell. Even though a small part of her knew she needed to eat, Rhea didn’t touch the food. It didn’t seem right, keeping herself alive when Felix was... 

Rhea never let the thoughts finish. She couldn’t accept that what she had seen in that room was real.

After another sleepless period, Sophia finally visited Rhea. Walking into the room, Sophia looked over Rhea with disgust while Rhea made no move to acknowledge that Sophia had walked in from where she was slumped against a wall.

“I’ve given you enough time to think about what happened,” Sophia said with disdain. Rhea continued to stare blankly at the ground in front of her, the only sense of life being the rise and fall of her chest. Seemingly annoyed at being ignored, Sophia walked up to Rhea and squatted before her.

Nudging Rhea’s foot, Sophia began, “You have one crew member left that you can save. I highly doubt—“

At that mention of Max, Rhea looked up with cold defiance and spit in Sophia’s face. She didn’t care anymore about her life, but she would be damned if Sophia threatened another member of her crew.

“Do what you want with me, but let him go.” Rhea glared with as much defiance as she could muster. “I will never tell you where Phineas is, no matter what you do. So please,” she hated begging but at this point she didn’t care, “please let Max go.”

Rhea struggled to hold back her emotions as she asked for Max’s life. Anger, fear, despair, all came crashing down on her, the void in her chest suddenly overflowing, making her chest ache. There was no hope that Sophia would listen but Rhea had to try. 

Instead of responding, Sophia pulled out a handkerchief and wiped off the spit on her face. She stood up and looked down on Rhea, taking a long time before finally speaking.

“I didn’t want it to come to this.” She motioned for the guard to come forward. “I won’t kill you captain, not yet. You’re too useful to lose right now.” 

The guard came forward and passed Sophia a syringe. Testing to make sure it worked smoothly, she moved to inject it into Rhea’s arm. Rhea tried to get away but found she moved slowly, her reflexes not quick enough to get away from Sophia’s strong grasp.

“I’ll get my information from you.”

But as Sophia was about to plunge the needle into Rhea’s arm, alarms began blaring out in the hallway. Sighing heavily, Sophia passed the needle back to the guard and moved to the open door.

“What’s happened,” Rhea heard Sophia ask someone out in the hallway. She was unable to make out what the person was saying, but whatever it was made Sophia tense up. 

“Damn,” Sophia said loud enough for Rhea to hear. Without a backwards glance, Sophia motioned for the guards to leave and the door was shut on Rhea again.

Even in her starved and exhausted state, Rhea could tell something was very wrong. While Sophia didn’t seem to take pleasure in torture, she wouldn’t have stopped what she was doing for anything other than a dire situation. Maybe someone’s come to save her, Rhea thought before laughing bitteringly at herself. No one was coming.

With that thought, Rhea laid back against the wall and continued to stare at nothing in particular. The gray walls served as a nice blockage to any actual thoughts. Her world had become gray and bland and at this point, she was happy to fade into such an existence. No one to rely on her, no one she could let down. 

Eventually she drifted into a restless sleep that she knew would not leave her feeling rested. Still, she welcomed the moments she wasn’t conscious. When that happened, no images visited her or reminded her of her failure.

The emptiness offered a welcomed, albeit sad, embrace. So when she was suddenly shaken awake by strong hands, she tried to brush them off. The hands ignored her attempts at shrugging them off, becoming even more urgent than before.

“...it she’s not wa…”

“..er for all I car…”

Words floated in and out as she struggled to focus on what was happening. As she came too, two faces she had last expected to see came into focus. Even blurry, Rhea could make out the short blonde hair and concerned look that Ellie’s face wore when she was patching up a pretty nasty injury. Looking past someone who couldn’t possibly be in front of her, she saw someone was in the room with them. The person was standing by the door looking around while glancing sporadically back at her and Ellie. 

Rhea turned back to the person leaning over her. “Ellie?”

“Finally decided to join the party, I see.”

A male’s voice rang out behind her. “Can she move? The other’s can distract the guards only so long.”

“I’m doing what I can, Max,” Ellie didn’t turn to answer as she continued to focus on Rhea. Getting into a sitting position, Rhea couldn’t believe what she was seeing even though she could feel Ellies hands moving about her body checking for any serious injuries.

Too shocked to speak, Rhea lifted a finger and poked Ellie in the cheek.

“Stop that,” Ellie said hastily, “We need to get you out of here. Can you move?”

Swallowing, Rhea asked, “Are you really here?

Ellie gave Rhea her signature annoyed look. “Of course we are here, but I need you to focus. Can you move?”

Can I, Rhea thought to herself. With assistance from Ellie, Rhea was able to stand up. But as she made to move, pain shot up through her body before she collapsed. Both Max and Ellie rushed to help her up as she leaned on to them for support.

“We need to get her moving, Ellie,” Max was saying. Up until that point, it hadn’t registered that Max was there. He was captured. Sophia had him.

“You….escaped,” Rhea looked up at him, tears forming in her eyes, “You’re ok?”

Max looked at her perplexed. He opened his mouth to respond but Ellie cut him off, “We don’t have time to question whatever they’ve done to her. We need to go now.”

“Dammit,” Rhea heard Max mutter under his breath. “Do you have something to give her? Won’t get far if we carry her.”

Rhea continued to stare at Max as he bickered with Ellie, barely noticing that Ellie had slipped away to do something. Rhea now leaned fully into Max. For the first time in who knows how long, she felt safe. Studying his face, Rhea didn’t see any bruises, cuts or any sign that Sophia and her guards had touched him. Unlike me. She had only caught glimpses of herself from the window in the cell they brought her too. Bruised, broken, hopeless. Guess he was spared as they focused on me, she thought ruefully.

“I’m glad you're safe,” She spoke softly but Max heard her. Still staring at Max, she saw a mixture of sadness and confusion flicker upon his space.

“We’re grateful to have found you,” he said as he held her up. A tear fell down her face as she smiled at him. 

“Ok, it's ready.” Ellie walked over holding one of the medical inhalers. “Take this. It should give you a boost while we high tail it out of here.”

Grabbing the inhaler, she took a hit. The effects were almost immediate, the pain was gone and she could finally focus on what was happening. 

Taking a deep breath, Rhea thought about everything that had happened. Max was safe but Felix. Rhea dreaded having to tell the crew what happened to him but now was not the time. With final clarity, she knew what she needed to do. 

“Do you have my gun?”

Max and Ellie shared a look. “Captain, I think it’s be--”

Rhea cut him off. “There’s something I need to do first.”

Ellie pulled out a gun but hesitated to pass it over. “Hey, I’m not one to question the need for revenge, but this mission could easily become a suicide mission if we don’t leave now.”

Grabbing the gun, Rhea closed her eyes. Felix’s face was waiting as usual, his hazel eyes lifelessly staring back at her. Shaking her head slightly as if that would erase the image, Rhea focused on her gun and the weight in her hand.

After a moment, she opened her eyes again, a determined look set on her face. “Fine, but if I see Sophia, I’m going after her.”

Not waiting for a response, she made her way out of the cell into the hallway.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I swear it get's better. Thanks for sticking with me through this!


	4. If I Must Leave

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Rhea has been sprung by Max and Ellie! But as certain revelations come to light, Rhea and the group must escape as she comes face to face with the truth.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm sorry for the delay. Let the story continue!

Max and Ellie led the way through the hallways. Alarms continued to blare as staticky voices shouted through the speakers about intruders. 

As they moved quickly through the halls, Max and Ellie updated Rhea on what happened back on Byzantium.

“It seemed Sophia was following us while in the sewers, “Max explained, his words came out in hushed whispers. “They sabotaged the lights and ambushed us.”

They rounded a corner and came face to face with guards. The guards yelled out in alarm but were quickly silenced by Max’s and Ellie’s gone. Rhea still struggled to react quickly and chastised herself for being so slow. 

I’m better than this. 

Rhea was only half listening as the group moved on, her mind too focused in searching for any clue that Sophia was nearby. That’s why it took her a second to register that Max had mentioned Felix’s name. 

A dull throbbing pain registered on her senses. She slowed down as she struggled with whether to tell them about what happened. It was already hard enough for her to accept. Could she really say it out loud though?

“Hey guys, there’s um...there’s” Rhea struggled to continue. The others had stopped to look back. The urgency to keep moving was evident in their stance but they still stopped for her.

“What is it Rhea,” Max said at the same time Ellie asked “Can it wait til after we survive this rescue mission?”

Max glared at Ellie focusing back on Rhea and gave her an assured smile. “We really must go. Can you make it quick?”

She took a deep breath, “It’s about Felix. Something….somethings happened to him.”

“You mean aside from him being a royal pain in the ass since you were captured,” Ellie muttered under her breath.

“He’s...What. What did you say?”

Ellie rolled her eyes, “He practically charged in here when we landed. I was about ready to lock him in his room.”

Rhea stared at her in disbelief. No, she thought, that can’t be. She grabbed Ellie by the shoulders, causing her to let out a small yelp.

“Felix is alive?”

“Uh yes,” Ellie asked, glancing over to Max for help.

Rhea stood there in shock, not believing what Ellie said. She turned to Max, afraid that his expression would prove her fears. Instead, he looked at her with concern. She turned back to Ellie and quickly released her.

“Sorry,” she muttered. 

Max walked over to her as if approaching a skittish cat and placed his hand on her arm gently. “Rhea, what did they do to you.”

She stared at him as she felt the panic beginning to set in. “I--I don’t know.”

Rhea wanted to believe her. She ached to believe that what she witnessed was wrong. But she couldn’t. Not now. 

Before they could continue, the sound of running echoed down the hall from where they came.

“Ok we can figure out Felix’s state of being later,” Ellie began to back away but stopped when she saw the other two weren’t moving. “Hellloo? We gotta go.”

Spurred by Ellie’s urgency, Max gave her one more look that Rhea couldn’t quite read and then gently pulled her along. More guards rounded the corner at the other end of the hall, which Rhea began shooting at before turning around the corner. 

Focus, she told herself. She can think about Felix later.

Ellie’s words echoed in her head. What did they do to me? Rhea knew first hand that Sophia wasn't one to shy away from crossing lines to get what she wants. She wracked her brain for any memory of them tampering with her, but nothing came to mind.

"Almost there," Ellie motioned towards the cargo bay. Rhea could make out the opening where a ship could pull up to and stacks if boxes but not much else. 

They stayed hidden behind the corner for a few moments listening for any signs of more guards. The alarm was still blaring but it seemed no guards were in the area. Motioning slightly with his head, Max led them into the room.

It was much more spacious than Rhea imagined. Looking around, she could assume this place was big enough to hide a ship the size of the Unreliable. What are they planning here? Aside from interrogations, she reminded herself.

She didn't have much time to think beyond that. They moved as quickly as was safe heading towards the wide opening. Rhea found herself struggling to keep up even at their slower pace. The effects of the stimpack were starting to wear off. 

Hold on a little longer, she told her body. Please.

Pausing by another stack of boxes, Rhea whispered to the others, "what's the plan here." While Rhea was grateful for the others coming to dave her, it would be pointless if they couldn't get out.

They were crouched by a stack of boxes now waiting for the sound of guards coming. But the bay was silent aside from thr blaring arm. 

Max pointed to the opening, "There."

"There," she hissed, "What. Are we su--"

She was cut off by the sound of quick fire shooting and explosions echoing around the bay.

"Right on cue," Ellie smiled to herself. Rhea turned to her confused, but her unasked question was answered as she heard a loud yell that could only be Nyoka’s voice followed by a "Hell yeah, Nyoka."

Felix?

Rhea was frozen as the reality of what she heard crashed with what she had witnessed. The image of Felix behind the glass flashed in front of her but there was his voice again as he continued to taunt their attackers. 

"Where are you going," she heard Ellie whisper at her. Rhea didn't realize she had started moving but she didn't try to stop herself. Throwing caution to the wind, Rhea started running towards the commotion ignoring the shouts from Ellie and Max to stop. If she didn't see it for herself soon, her thoughts would eat her alive. 

There up ahead was a wider hallway than the one she, Ellie, and Max had come from. Rhea could make out two figures running awkwardly as they tried to get away but also shoot at their pursuers.

Nyoka was carrying her machine gun and stopping every few seconds to fire out a flurry of bullets before running again while haphazardly reloading. And running next to her was…

"Felix!"

She couldn’t help but stop and stare. He was alive! A bubble of hysterical laughter escaped her lips. Whatever questions she had, concerns of what really happened down in those interrogation rooms, left her mind, if only for a moment. 

At the sound of his name, Felix looked back and a huge smile appeared on his face. “Hiya boss!”

Then a little voice in the back of her head started to doubt again. She had been fooled once, it wouldn’t be past Sophia to somehow fool her again. She needed to know for sure. Yet seeing the guards and still wanting to exact some revenge on Sophia, she held onto that skepticism. Even now, it could be fake.

Steeling herself, Rhea focused on the present. They needed to get out and there were still too many guards on Nyoka and Felix’s tail. All she had on her was her pistol and lousy aim. Looking around, Rhea tried to find anything that could help them out. It didn’t take long before her eyes came across a symbol she hadn’t seen in a long time. Smiling to herself, she ran over to the box and opened it. Even as the adrenaline rush began to fade, she knew this weapon could help.

Pulling the rocket launcher out of the weapon and sending a whispered prayer into the universe that this would work, Rhea ran to the center of the hallway entrance.

“Heads up,” she yelled and pulled the trigger. Felix and Nyoka barely had enough time to dive out of the way before the rocket hit the wall a couple meters past the group of guards and a ball of plasma consumed the majority of the guards running.  
Holy shit. 

This was not a rocket launcher like the ones back on Earth. But as she took a moment to admire the weapon in her hands, Felix and Nyoka were running again and she abandoned the weapon to the side as the three of them ran over to where Ellie and Max were standing. 

Rhea almost doubled over as she struggled to catch her breathing. She felt a hand rest on her back while another grabbed her arm to support her. Looking up, she saw Nyoka’s concerned face.

“Almost there Cap,” Nyoka offered as reassurance. “A couple of more minutes, right?” She directed this last bit to Max and Ellie. Max was working on some sort of device and waved a hand in response.

“Parvati and the Unreliable are almost here.” He said, reading off from the device. “Only a few more minutes.”

“Dammit Max,” Ellie shot back at him as she looked around the cargo bay. “If they don’t get here now then we are screwed. Is it part of the Grand Plan to let us die on this suicide mission?”

Rhea noticed Max close his eyes in the way he does when he’s trying not to snap at them.

“They will get here when they get here, whatever the Plan may be,” annoyance leaked into his voice as he answered.

As they bickered and waited for their rescue, Rhea felt another hand on her other arm. Seeing Felix’s face, she flinched away. Even now part of her told her this wasn’t real but she was still willing to play along. But she wasn’t ready to face it, him, now. It didn’t escape her as confusion and hurt flickered on his face, but she couldn’t look back at him and he didn’t try to reach out again.

The seconds ticked by as they waited. And waited.

Max and Ellie hadn’t stopped bickering and Rhea listened as Nyoka started to join in. She was too tired to speak up and leaned completely on Nyoka for support, the effects of the stimpack all but gone from her system. 

That didn’t stop her from hearing the sound of boots echo in the cargo bay. Glancing over, her body froze as she saw Sophia surrounded by guards walking towards them.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for reading! Next chapter to come out soon.

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you for reading!


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